the newsflash this week appears to be: i took a break

i should preface this entire post by saying that it's been a pretty rough-going writing day for me. everything i get down onto paper (or actually. . . onto screen) i end up rewriting about twenty minutes later. so, i've decided to take a break, put some clothes in the washer, and assemble a blog post that i've sworn to myself not to spend extra time editing. so, apologies for things that i will have needed to fixed, but won't have altered in anyway. it just has to be that way some days.

i've made it through a bulk of my dissertation at this point. i'm down to the discussion section, which is where i will be interpreting my results and explaining to the psychology world (a.k.a., my dissertation committee) why they are important. i understand that this sounds pretty straight forward, but it turns out to be incredibly hard when you have to couch it in work that other people have done rather than my own ideas about what is cool and important. in any case, i'm making progress, which makes me happy.

i'm also happy that matt convinced me to take a break this weekend. i don't think i really knew how much i needed it until it was over, if that makes sense. since we've both been incredibly busy, we decided to split the difference and just meet in the middle for a relaxing weekend. typically, the middle is pittsburgh, but not really wanting to be there during super bowl weekend, we settled on morgantown, wv instead.

i know what you're thinking. . . .west virginia?! really? but i'm about to blow your mind. i swear it.

first, matt pricelined a sweet deal at this swanky hotel on the river. we did have a decent view of the river, but none of the pictures look great because the weather was dark and rainy pretty much the whole time. we got a really huge corner room, though, and luckily didn't have too many run-ins with the other guests who were there for fight night.

not impressed yet? okay. let's talk about the food. this point alone has two sub-points.
     1. the options. i tell people a lot how weird of a college town state college is, and one of the reasons that this is the case is because there is a shocking lack of organic, vegetarian, and vegan options here. really. . . it's very strange. would you expect that morgantown would do a better job in this arena? of course not! but they totally did.  (and lunch the next day confirmed it) for example, our first night at the brewery turned out this little gem, a tofu pesto sandwich that i am hell bent on trying to replicate. i didn't stop talking about it all through the night and into the next day. seeing that i am still trying to work my way through the recipes in the amazing cookbook that dy gave me for Christmas, i'm not exactly sure when this is going to happen, but i am convinced that i can do it. i will likely be posting a picture of that if it succeeds and never mentioning it again if it fails.

2. the taste. when did i stop talking about a tofu pesto sandwich? when matt took me on a date the next night to Sargasso's, a last minute decision change from a site we'd picked the night before. the picture is a little dark, but it was tough to capture the whole atmosphere (i.e., fireplace, cute lighting scheme, restaurant on the river).  i also like to pretend that the one chef that i actually got in the picture is the one who made my amazingly, amazingly delicious sea scallops and shrimp. i know you're going to think that you see a lot of delicious things on this menu, but you should know that this was absolutely one of the most amazing things that i've ever tasted. it didn't have everything that eating something made by your mom at home has, but for a date night meal, but it was - by all accounts - amazing.

the rest of our time we spent sleeping in (well, some of us [i.e., me] more than others), watching HBO, visiting the outlet mall nearby (which produced the video on my facebook page) and walking around downtown. yep, we were actually within walking distance of downtown, and once matt found out that the cab ride was only $3, he thought we were too close to call a cab to take us home. so we walked. . . stopped into a wine bar, had a drink, and noted how everyone was dressed like they just stepped straight out of 1992. . . and braved the 27-degree weather to get home. much to his credit, though, when we went out the next evening, he dropped me off at the front door of the hotel and braved the elements alone from the parking garage to the hotel.

sorry there aren't more pictures. but, really recapping the rest of the week would just be a picture of me typing on my computer. and wishing a happy birthday to my grandma!!

dinner & a movie

it's almost been an iowa winter in state college this week. every step produces a crunching noise that sounds just as cold as it feels. every day is a race from house to car, car to office, and back again in order to spend as little total time as humanly possible outside with "the elements." but it's not been as wholly unpleasant as one might think. there have even been a couple of nights where curling up with a blanket at home not only feels warm, but it feels. . .well, kind of great.

wednesday was one of those nights. ashley and her dad packed up her room and she moved out on tuesday. after also having had matt and ryan here the previous weekend, two people in the house makes it feel pretty barren. lace and i both migrated to the living room and i tested out one of my new recipes from the amazing pampered chef vegetarian cookbook that my biggest big sister picked out for me for christmas.  it turned out pretty well, if i do say so myself. though it really wasn't fantastic as leftovers.

it was also a big step, since with this cold all i've really been hungry for is broccoli cheese soup (note that the broccoli portion of that wasn't completely taken care of) and water. . . although apples have been pretty tolerable. while i am excessively thankful that i don't have sinus infection this winter, as i have in so many others, i am quickly growing tired of this cold. particularly when there is so much work to be done. so, here's hoping that this week is the last one in which i'll have to deal with it.

speaking of work to be done, my dissertation defense has officially been scheduled. considering that my committee needs the completed document at least one week before said defense, that gives me about four weeks to pull it all together. note: that is not a lot of time. it's terrifying, really, but i'm actually hoping to get a big chunk of writing done this weekend.

on thursday night, briana and i went to see black swan, the movie for which natalie portman won the golden globe this year. it was a little strange and i'm still trying to figure it out, but i did really enjoy it. i'll let you know if i ever uncover what it all actually means.



i had a nice chat with kristi via skype this morning. i know i've said it before, but what a great piece of technology. free video phone chats? okay! especially great for those of us who suddenly find ourselves living far, far away.

and too wimpy to go outside in the way, way cold.

i'd best get to dissertating. have a great weekend, everyone.

is it springtime yet?

my goodness, it's cold here. it's not been the chill-you-to-the-bone cold that i remember from windy iowa winters when i still had to trek across central's campus to class, but it's been a pervasive you-can't-shake-it-no-matter-how-many-layers-you-wear kind of cold that is both physically uncomfortable and psychologically. . . well, annoying.  even more annoying is that after watching everyone else go through it last semester, i now find myself with my first winter cold of the 2010-2011 season. i'm not super excited about it.

so, not surprisingly, this week contained a lot of indoor activities. work in the lab, obviously, and a night of ordering in both with my friend briana - she's a post doc in jenae's lab - and my friend jess. briana and i have committed to rewatching all of the old seasons of mad men. so far we've made it through one episode. i'll keep you posted on that progress.

bless his heart, matt drove up this weekend and my cold and the outside cold led to even more inside activities - we spent most of our time finding things to do in my apartment.  all of the NFL playoff games made that somewhat easier. and we did find time to recreate the delicious spicy avocado and almond sushi that we recently discovered we're awesome at making. it didn't quite turn out as beautifully as it did the first time we made it (see below), but it was good nonetheless.

 if you're feeling inspired to try it yourself, you'll be relieved (and perhaps not surprised given that matt and i could do it) to know that it's super simple. honestly, we chose our own ingredients (avocado, slivered almonds, and some cayenne pepper) and just followed the instructions on this youtube video. we actually forgot to add the rice vinegar (clearly we didn't follow the instructions SUPER closely) and it turned out totally okay.

we did have to venture out for a few hours last night, though. ashley is moving back to california this week and some of us got together for drinks to wish her well. i thought we took a lot of good pictures last night, but really, we did not. it turns out, i have one really cute picture of lacey and ryan:

and several epic failures at attempts to get a super cute picture of matt and i. some notable attempts include failure #2: distracted by an ongoing conversation (and possibly a gigantic piece of carrot cake)

and epic failure #3: we can't stop giggling long enough to get a decent snap shot

along with what i think was matt's favorite, epic failure #1 (or #4): crazy, scary eyes. kara just told me this week that she thought we were an adorable couple. if this photo doesn't change her mind, nothing will.

although i could always follow up with the story of how we had a fantastic spill on the snowy streets of athens. that wasn't our best moment, either.

so, we'll work on our posing for pictures skills in the coming weeks/months.

i have almost fully compiled the data sets for my dissertation, which is good (though still amazingly behind schedule).  becca, if you're reading this, this is where you say something like, "don't worry, i know tons of people who wrote their dissertations in 6-8 weeks. . . ."

so, it's a lot of work this week - cold or not. it's just the way that it has to be. hope everyone else is keeping warm!

almost a mastercard commercial

another year come and gone already. it's tough to believe. so, what happened over the break? a lot, it turns out. here are a few highlights for you:

number of states visited: five

number of snowstorms observed: three (and counting. . . )

number of golden birthdays celebrated: 1

number of new recipes attempted: 2

number of new phones purchased: 2

number of new phone numbers: 1

number of manuscript acceptances: 3

number of manuscript rejections: 1 (and counting. . . )

number of glass drinking glasses broken: 2

number of Christmas cards received: 9

number of IDs that almost expired without being renewed: 2

number of post-break maintenance calls needed: 2

number of plants killed in our absence: 2

and what's in the future? oh, lots of work and traveling, as always.

number of classes being taught this semester: 1

number of conferences approaching: 1

number of participants planned on: >20

number of weeks until dissertation defense: 8

number of analyses that have been done for said defense: 0

number of hours that have been spent putting together data for said analyses for said defense: countless

number of weeks until grant review: 6

number of hours until panic sets in: any minute now.

so, the lock-down will be in place soon. there are, of course, still odds and ends to be tied up from the manuscripts that are going into press and from the course i taught last semester, but i'm hoping to have most of that done today. then it will be dissertation writing, manuscript prep, and the usual meeting schedule in place. this is what 2011 looks like!

love and happy new year to all!

i think football weekends should be an extra day long

i've come to realize that football weekends are dangerous in two ways:
1. they inevitably take away an entire day's worth of work that may have otherwise gotten done
2. they take away all motivation to be productive for anywhere from 30-72 hours

these are not good things for a graduate student in her final year who still has a dissertation to write. but, if - hypothetically - that graduate student has a blog that is the perfect procrastination tool, well then it is good for the blog.

obviously, then, saturday was a football day. and, oddly, the first game that i actually went into the stadium to see this year. it was fantastic. we went in about an hour early and ended up sitting in the 10th row (yep, the 10th row!!!) it was chilly, but the number of people there made for a little extra warmth.
ever wonder what it's like to sit in the student section at Beaver Stadium? Ohhhhh, something like this:

you may recognize that name that they're yelling, eh? indeed, it turned out to be a historic game for our joepa. the victory over northwestern made for his 400th win as head coach. pretty impressive. also impressive was that when they wheeled out a teeny-tiny stage for a post-game speech, i could've sworn that every one of the 104,000+ people were still in their seats. even the northwestern fans (who, by the way should be way proud of their man dan persa. he was awesome to watch [did i mention that i saw all of that from the 10th row?])

anyway, the AD and President Spanier did their things and then Joepa gave his schpeel which was honestly not much longer than the clip of it that they showed on ESPN. if you click on the "Joe Paterno on 400th win" you'll see an interview that wasn't a part of the official ceremony. you might also notice that his wife, Sue, is right beside him. in fact, they brought his whole family into the stadium and onto the sidelines near the end of the fourth quarter. grandkids and all. it was pretty sweet.

and, then we finished off the true sequence of football saturdays. . . tailgating, game-watching, and coming home, ordering pizza, and curling up to watch the rest of the night games. it was a good day, indeed.

it's weird that we're only 5 days in. . . but also weird that there are only 25 left. . .

how in the heck is it November already? i'm trying to figure out how things got here so quickly, but also trying not to think about it, because if time continues to fly by, both my grant and my dissertation will be due before we know it. and i haven't decided yet if that's good or bad.

it's been a long week in a lot of ways. kara called me on sunday and told me that we had shockingly lost one of our friends from central college. Jason was a person that I - well, that everyone - always liked. He was one of those inexplicably extroverted people who was also always happy, always giving you extra hugs, and always a face you're glad to see coming your way. even though we hadn't talked for some time, Jason was infinitely better than me at keeping up with people. . . a LOT of people. . . and I'm grateful for that. I want to avoid scripting a long, public recount of how much of a blessing it is to have a friend like Jason in one's life - even if it is only for (at this pace) what feels like the the blink of an eye. some lives just touch your heart like that. i hope when i am gone as many people will be able to say that their lives were better for having had me in it as i know can say such a thing about jason. he is gone too soon. he will be sorely missed. but his inspiration will live strongly on.

it's kind of tough to have any transition to something after that. but i think one of the reasons that such things are so weird is because life doesn't pause for them. it kind of seems like they should, but it never quite works that way.

i think most of you have already heard my rants about the vote in iowa this year. i also will not be posting a political exposition on here, but i am still feeling desperately disappointed by my home state. i was at least partially reinspired by this article, which was published in the register (in know, right?!) following the elections. please try not to read the really rude commentaries that follow where some people describe in detail why they are so much more entitled to marry while others should have to prove in 1,000 ways why they might be worthy.

okay, i guess i was going to have a slight rant, sorry. but somewhere in there i remembered terry branstad's commentary on that and it makes me so sad that a place that i always recall as so full of love and family and the qualities of a place that you want to call home can't even stand up for a minority. sometimes, i'm scared that my great grandchildren - if they ever exist - will sometimes look at me the way that i look at people who lived through slavery and ask, "why did people think it was okay to treat other people like that?" and i'll have no answer.

okay, i guess i'm going to have two rants.
done now.

here's a way less serious topic:
have you all ever seen one of these?

forgive me if i'm naive because i grew up in a place where we totally burned all of the leaves that we raked up (um, sorry Earth), but this system of "leaf removal" is still totally baffling to me. this contraption is like a giant vacuum-thingy that typically attaches to what looks like a slightly-undersized garbage truck. in state college it is someone's job to drive around this garbage-truck/vacuum combo and suck up the leaves that people have raked out onto the curbing of the road.

i'm seriously not kidding about that. that's weird, right? i wish i could've gotten a video of it in action for you. it's just as wild as it sounds (and really, really, really loud).

oh wait, I know what else you're wondering about - - didn't Josh and Becca come last weekend? well, YES!! in fact they did. Becca has most of our tailgating pictures, but I have these sweet ones of us as the Mad Men characters at Kristin & Erik's Halloween party. i don't know why my hair was so crazy at this point (though it may have something to do with the fact that it's a $10 wig). . . and my skeleton glass isn't nearly as good of an accessory as Matt's and Becca's fake cigarettes, but what can you do? we look good, anyway, you have to admit.

and yes, that is Wayne and Garth in the front row. i guess it could happen - didn't they have a time machine in one of their movies?

sadly, not much else has happened outside of work other than that. i'm planning on being at the penn state/northwestern game tomorrow. . . though i'm admittedly not thrilled about the forecast (47 degress is the anticipated HIGH - blech). but, it should be fun in any case. i'll keep you updated :)

that's it for now, i think.
an extra hug for everyone tonight. and lots of extra love from pennsylvania.

I VOTED TODAY

. . . And I'm pretty sure that nobody at my polling place when I was there was under the age of 65.

How happy do you think the democratic candidate standing in the doorway shaking hands and handing out tablets of paper was to see me? :)